


Treasures in His Heart

by captaincastle



Category: Daredevil (TV), The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Bathing/Washing, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Parenthood, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, because we all need more dad frank, dad frank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-17 00:16:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13647414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captaincastle/pseuds/captaincastle
Summary: Frank never thought he'd have children again, and these babies become his whole world.





	1. You Can't Have Both

**Author's Note:**

> again, i'm posting old writing. these were all written separately and not in any kind of order originally but i decided to put them together for this! :)

It had been an unusually rough night for Frank. He was covered in blood, most of it was not his own, and in addition to the blood he was soaked to the bone and covered in mud. He was a mess. He hoped Karen was asleep because he was so angry from what had happened he didn’t want to upset her, but the moment he stepped foot in the bedroom, he saw the bedside lamp was on.

“I thought you weren’t going out.” Karen said sternly, “Do you realize how much I panicked when I woke up and you were gone! It’s 5 am Frank!! When did you leave??”

Frank had gone to bed with Karen that night. She’d fallen asleep in his arms but he was wide awake. He couldn’t think about anything else other than the guy he’d been tracking. He slipped out of bed at 1 am and Karen didn’t stir. He’d hoped to back it back before she woke - that didn’t happen.

Frank didn’t reply to her and slammed the bathroom door behind him louder than he intended. He showered for a long time. He had so much blood and dirt on him he had to scrub for longer than normal - not to mention the fact he was sore and beaten up.

Karen was still awake when Frank finally emerged from the bathroom. He wore only a pair of boxers and normally Karen would have drooled but not now. She was angry.

It was one of the worst downpours Hell’s Kitchen had seen in years and Karen didn’t want Frank to go out in the storm. She already worried about him enough as it was.

Frank sat down on the bed with a sigh. He put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.

“This is me Karen.” he said finally after several minutes of silence.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you want me home but…this is who I am. I’m the Punisher remember?”

“Do you realize how selfish you sound?” she scoffed, she felt tears pricking up in her eyes. “You’re not alone Frank! I worry about you! I want you SAFE! You leaving all the time makes me think you don’t even care.”

He turned his head and stared blankly at her.

“I don’t care?”

“If you want me then stop putting yourself in danger! You can’t have it both ways!” she snapped. She regretted it the moment it left her mouth.

“I can’t have it both ways? People put their lives at risk every day! I’m a solider, if you’d known me before would you have told me that?? ‘I can’t have it both ways.’ You can’t have it both ways. You can have me as I am or not at all.”

Karen froze. She opened her mouth to speak but they got caught in her throat.

So he spoke instead.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“Do you want to?” she found her courage.

“I don’t want to, but… I will if you want me to.”

That’s when the tears began. She leaned her head against his bare shoulder and sobbed against his skin.

Frank turned and pulled her into his arms. He shushed her softly and rocked her back and forth while she cried. He waited til she had her breath back before he asked what was wrong. What was really wrong. She’d never been mad at him leaving before.

“What’s eating ya?” he asked softly. “You’re shaking.”

“I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“Of something happening to you.....and me having to raise this child on my own.”

“What?”

Karen sat up to look at his face, she was even more worried now.

He was frowning but then she saw a massive grin appear on his face. Shock, fear, and joy were all on his face at once. He pulled her back against his chest and held her tight.

“I ain’t leavin’ ok? Can’t promise I’m putting the Punisher away, but I ain’t leaving.”

She nodded and sniffled again as he resumed swaying back and forth to soothe her.

But she was already comforted by his promise to never leave her.


	2. Shopping

“You ready?” Frank placed his hand on Karen’s lower back. He smiled a little when he felt her lean back into his touch. He knew her back was probably aching. He dug his fingers in her skin to relieve some of the pressure. “Let’s go. We got a lotta ground to cover.” Frank said and led Karen in the door of the large department store.

Frank grabbed a shopping cart and leaned his arms against the handle to push it as he walked. Karen set her purse inside the cart and walked beside him. She’s 5 months pregnant and they are shopping for baby things in the nursery. They are a little behind, because the moment Karen found out she was pregnant she began to look a bigger apartment in a safer part of town. Frank got busy helping out with the nursery. But there are still things they need at the baby stores, so here they are looking for baby clothes and little decorations and things.

The baby is a girl, and they have already decided her name is going to be Katherine, or Katie for short. So anything pink and with a K on it was tossed in the cart.

The two of them spend most of the day shopping and as the day progresses, Frank senses Karen’s mood change. She was excited but now he thinks she’s overwhelmed.

“You alright Karen?” Frank stops the cart and straightens up to look at her. They’re standing in the middle of an aisle with bottles and formula, and Karen starts to cry.

Ah hormones.

She leans her head against his shoulder and sobs into his t-shirt. He wraps her up in his arms and holds her tight. He lets her catch her breath before he asks what’s going on.

“I’m scared Frank.” she finally whispered.

“Hey, hey, you’re gonna do just fine. Sweetheart, trust me, if you can take care of me, you can handle a baby.” He gave her a sly grin when she looked at him.

She sniffed and let out a soft chuckle. She leaned into him and he kissed her cheek. “You’re gonna do just fine.” he repeated and put a reassuring hand on her belly. “I think we have enough for today don’t you think?” he pointed to the almost full cart. They didn’t have to get everything all at once.

“We got a lot a stuff today for this little girl.” he said and softly rubbed Karen’s belly. “Now let’s get you home and I’ll give this girl a massage ok?” he said as he kissed her temple.

She nodded and let out a sigh. Frank chuckled in her hair, his lips still close to her temple. He kissed her a couple more times until she began to actually smile. “It’s gonna be ok.” he whispered, and he led her out of the store with their bags full of bright pink baby things.


	3. They Asked About You

Karen made a promise to herself when her brother died that every year she would go visit his grave. No one knew she did this. If the date landed on a week day, she took a sick day. She never wanted to draw attention to her going. She’d actually managed to keep it from Frank for awhile but this year was the first time she actually told Frank. She didn’t want to lie to him.

“Where you going?” he mumbled. He was still waking up when she was getting dressed. Which was surprising, usually he was up before her. But then she hadn’t been sleeping well the past few nights months. She’s about 7 months pregnant, and has been very uncomfortable sleeping lately.

“I’m gonna go for a drive.”

“It’s a little early isn’t it? What’s going on?” He read the look of sadness on her face. It could be her hormones, but still he could tell something was wrong. This was out of nowhere for her, she didn’t just take drives unless she had some reason for it like research. But she was working from home now as she was on maternity leave, she hadn’t gone out to do research in a couple months.

“C’mere.” he patted the bed and she came and sat back down. He pulled her in between his legs and she rested her back against his chest. His big hands rested on her swollen belly and he rubbed her tummy tenderly. “Tell me.” he whispered against her hair.

She sat still in his arms for a moment before she spoke.

“Today is the day my brother died.” she sniffed. “And I promised myself I’d go see his grave every year for as long as I can.”

“Ok. Let’s go.” he said without even thinking.

“What?” she turned her head a little, but didn’t get up.

“I’m gonna go with you. Don’t want you to be alone. I want to be there for you.” he said softly. “You ready to go now?”

“I just got comfortable.” she huffed playfully, “I could go to sleep like this.”

“Well you can tonight if you want. I can sleep in any position, and I know you haven’t been sleeping well.”

She hummed in agreement and sighed to ready herself to get up. She felt heavy.

“Take your time.” he said softly, reassuring her.

She nodded and stood slowly. His hand was on her lower back steadying her as she stood.

She was already dressed so he quickly tugged on a shirt, jeans, and his boots and grabbed Karen’s car keys.. Before he walked out the door to the garage, he put on a baseball cap, some sunglasses, and his jacket. He was sure no one would notice him, but just in case.

They drove in silence most of the way. Karen was sad, and didn’t really feel like talking. Really the only things she said were the directions, and that she was glad he was with her. Frank’s fingers were intertwined with hers to comfort her as best he could. He knew this day would be rough, and Karen’s sigh told him it was about to get worse.

“Oh no.” was her sigh as they pulled into the cemetery.

“What is it?” Frank’s first thought was the baby and his hand flew to her belly.

“It’s my parents. They’re here.” Karen saw their car parked in the cemetery as Frank pulled their car up next to it, and they saw two figures walking towards were she knew her brother’s grave was.

“Do you want me to pull around?”

“No, they’ll see my car. They’ll call me later mad asking why I didn’t say hello. I’m just gonna go.” she sighed again. Frank squeezed her hand. She didn’t even sound like herself. Her voice was tired, and she sounded distant.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“NO! No. I’ll be fine, just wait here and pray they don’t see you.” Luckily her car has tinted windows.

She opened the door to get out, but before she could step out, she felt Frank’s hand grasp her wrist.

“C’mere.” he whispered, and pulled her to him to give her an encouraging kiss.

That kiss earned him his first smile from her of the day. His heart clenched to see her so sad.

She took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. Her stomach was churning as she left the safety and comfort of being with Frank. He hated having to sit in the car to wait.

He watched her walk slowly to her brother’s grave. Her parents were already there, and he could only imagine what they were saying when Karen approached. His hands gripped the steering wheel when he heard shouting. He saw Karen put the flowers on the grave, and she stormed back to the car. He could see tears in her eyes. Anger burned in him, he was very close to getting out of the car and having some words with her parents. But he knew that would only upset her further.

“Are you ok?” he asked when she climbed in. He knew she wasn’t but he needed to ask.

“Please can we just go home?”

“Yes ma’am. Do you wan-” before he could even finish asking, she began telling him what happened.

“They asked about you, my parents asked about you. They didn’t ask about me. They wanted to know who knocked me up. They wanted to know what kind of lowlife or druggie or if it was just some one night stand. They seemed to think all my boyfriends were lowlifes. And don’t you dare say that you are a lowlife, you take care of me. You care more about me than I think they ever did. They didn’t even ask how I was, or that they were sorry about all of the shit they put me through. They didn’t even mention my brother, their own son. I went today to tell him, that he would have been an uncle, and that his niece’s name is going to be Katie when she’s born. It was supposed to be a nice afternoon and it got ruined.” By the end she was crying, and Frank had placed a hand on her thigh. He squeezed her knee in the reassuring way he does, and took her hand.

Karen knew they were upset because she is pregnant and she didn’t tell them. They’d probably be even more upset if they knew she's been with Frank for the past 3 years, but they don’t know that yet. She knows that it’s a rough day for them too, but she’s still hurt. Seeing them opened old wounds.

When they got home, Frank heated Karen up some leftovers in the microwave. While she ate, he drew her a bath. He was determined to help her have a good evening after the day she’d had.

She kissed his cheek and jaw over and over when she realized he’d made her a bath. He was glad he could do something to help.

“You’re getting in with me right?”

“Only if you want me to.”

“Frank.”

He grinned a little, and shed his clothes. He stepped in first, and helped Karen sit down. They found their position, Karen’s back resting against his chest. His hands rubbed her thighs and her belly. He wanted to touch her in more intimate places, but he didn’t want to get her worked up tonight. He was trying to get her to wind down, not get wound up. She was tired enough.

They laid in the warmth of the bath for a good while, before Frank changed his mind about not winding her up. His hands were still resting on the swell of her belly, and he slid one hand down slowly, teasing the skin on her stomach and hips as he moved. Frank angled his head a bit to kiss her neck, when he realized that she was falling asleep. Her eyes were falling shut, so he stopped his hand from traveling any lower than her hips.

“Karen?”

“Mmm?”

“You asleep?”

“Mmm.”

“Ok, time to get up. Let’s get you into bed.”

He woke her gently and held her hand while she stood, making sure she didn’t slip in the tub. He kissed her forehead softly when she leaned into him, he’d pulled her close as he wrapped a towel around her. She yawned as she got dressed in her pjs, which was just an over sized t-shirt and some underwear. Frank himself tugged on his boxers while she dressed.

Karen rested her hand against the counter to steady herself as she yawned. Frank swept his arm under her knees and picked her up bridal style.

“C’mon baby.” he said as he carried her to bed. He wasn’t much for pet names, but every now and then he’d use them, and he knew she liked when he did. She buried her face in his neck and yawned again, but Frank felt her smile against his skin when he called her ‘baby’.

He sat her down, and he positioned himself in the middle of the bed. They were trying the new sleep position tonight. He didn’t know if he could fall asleep like that, he had before, but he was willing to lose a night of sleep if it meant she could sleep. He was used to being awake at night anyways.

Just like in the bath, and how they had been earlier that morning, Karen rested between Frank’s legs. Her back against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. She was so exhausted, she fell asleep pretty quickly. Her emotional day had drained her.

Frank stayed awake awhile. He was enjoying holding her too much. His hands were on her belly, his thumbs rubbing back and forth. He had a habit of placing his hands on her stomach, it relaxed Karen, and it made him happy when he felt their baby Katie kick. He’d done the same with Maria when she was pregnant. And because he’d been through this twice already, he felt the need to make sure Karen was ok. He knew she was nervous. So he took every step to ease her. It had taken Karen awhile to get used to Frank’s constant attention, but the farther in the pregnancy she got, the more nervous she became, and the more at ease his attention gave her. So she let him, and wanted him to hold her.

Right before he fell asleep he kissed her hair and whispered that he loved her. The rhythm of her breathing against him lulled him to sleep.


	4. Cradle

Little Katie Castle is a few months old, and Frank and Karen couldn’t be more in love with her, yet Frank is the only one who can get her to sleep.

Karen has gotten better at it, but Frank just has a knack for it. She almost felt a little embarrassed that Frank was better at putting her to sleep, but Frank reminds her gently that this is the third time he’s done this. And that’s she’s doing pretty damn good for it being her first time as a mom.

And Frank didn’t mind for a second when he had to do something for Katie. Any moment with her was precious to him.

He just had to learn how to do things one handed, because that was how Katie liked to be held when she slept. Frank held his arm across his chest and Katie laid across his arm, her head cradled gently in his hand. Her little arms and feet dangled, as her tummy and torso rested across his forearm.

When she was awake she liked to be held traditionally facing upwards to look at her parents faces. And when she finally would fall asleep, Frank would set her in her crib, but it took her awhile to drift off sometimes, and if she ever woke up she got fussy. So Frank just kind of got into the habit of letting her sleep for a bit on his arm while he was home.

Karen had taken maternity leave, but only for a short while, she could work at home if she needed to. And since Frank was home a lot during the day, he was there to care for Katie.

He was trying to get Katie to go to sleep tonight but she was being a little fussy. He had to go out and do what he does. He’d rather hold his daughter, but things had to be taken care of.

“You like making things difficult for daddy don’t you? Just like your mom.” Frank whispered and winked up at Karen. Frank was sitting on their bed with Katie as he cleaned off one of his guns with his free hand. Katie only whimpered a tiny response, and Frank felt his heart clench. He loved his little girl.

That was why he still did what he did, he wanted to keep her safe. He knew he was still putting her in danger, but him and Karen were working on a plan to move from Hell’s Kitchen. So as long as they were there, he’d fight for his girls to keep them safe. That was all that matters.

“Nevermind.”

“Nevermind what?” Karen said as she sat down in the bed next to Frank. He smiled at her wearing his old marines t-shirt. He never got tired of see her small frame in his big shirt. “Frank you’re staring.” she blushed a little.

He was smiling at her with an extremely fond smile, Karen’s favorite one, his lopsided smile, his dark eyes big and soft.

“C’mere.” he whispered. Karen leaned in and kissed Frank softly.

He leaned back against the headboard and sighed heavily.

“I’m not going out tonight. I want to stay here with my girls.”

Karen rested her head on Frank’s back and lightly patted Katie’s back. She gurgled in her sleep. Her little pink onesie a sharp contrast to Frank’s black t-shirt. He hadn’t put his armor on yet, and for tonight it would remain off. He leaned back against the head board, careful not to jostle Katie.

“She feels safe with you Frank.” Karen spoke as just adjusted the little pink sock on Katie’s little foot. “I mean I feel pretty safe in your arms, and curled into your chest.”

Frank gave her a sly grin, and shifted a little so that he could wrap his other arm around Karen. His hand found her waist and slipped under her t-shirt to rest on the skin of her hip. He playfully dug his fingers into her skin as a little squeeze of affection.

“My girls.” Frank said softly as he held them. He sighed heavily in content. Hell’s Kitchen could wait, right now these two were all that mattered.


	5. Babysitting

Frank has a mission tonight, it could get messy but most likely he’ll have fun.

Babysitting.

Karen has a company dinner party to go tonight which left Frank home alone to care for their baby daughter.

Frank was in the kitchen making himself some dinner, while Karen was getting dressed. And Frank didn’t mind at all, he loved spending time with Katie.

At the moment she was draped over his arm in her favorite position, sleeping soundly with her body lying across the length his arm. His arm was pressed against his chest keeping her secure.

“Frank you know there are leftovers in the fridge you can heat up, you don’t have to eat instant noodles.” Karen spoke as she walked into their tiny kitchen. Frank turned to face her, she was adjusting her earrings.

“ Wow. Just, wow…” he whispered. The dress she wore was one of his favorites of hers. “You look lovely, darlin’.” Frank leaned in to peck her cheek. His kiss was supposed to be quick, but he lingered.

“Frank.” Karen touched Frank’s bare shoulder and a chill went up his spine, her fingers were cold a lot. “I need you to zip me up please.”

She turned her back, and carefully with one hand Frank zipped up her dress.

“You’re getting better.” Karen laughed. Since Frank’s left arm and hand was used as a baby bed a lot, he had to figure out how to just use his right hand for things. Katie liked to sleep in her daddy’s arm against his chest. Her head resting in the palm of his hand, while her little feet and arms dangled on either side of his arm. Frank liked to hold her while he was shirtless, so she could feel the warmth of his skin on hers.

“I’ve gotta go.” She kissed Frank and Katie, and dashed out the door.

“Looks like it’s just you and me now Miss Katie. Now it’s time for dinner.”

The reason he made instant noodles, is that eating noodles doesn’t require two hands. He’d much rather eat Karen’s cooking, but for now it was noodles.

He’d finished making the noodles, and set the bowl down on the coffee table, and clicked on the tv. He turned it to a sports station and muted the tv. He didn’t care to hear the announcers blab when he could figure out what was happening on his own. And he didn’t want the racket waking Katie, not when he had her sound asleep.

Once he finished eating, he leaned back against the couch. He propped his feet up on the coffee table and watched the game holding his baby girl, enjoying the peace.

Frank leaned down to press his lips to her head, but his tender kiss woke her. She began to wriggle around, and he adjusted her so he could look at her face.

“That wasn’t supposed to wake you up.” he said dryly but softly. She cooed and he smiled tenderly. “Hi sugar.” She blinked up at her daddy, and smiled a toothless grin up at him. His heart melted at her big blue eyes, they looked just like her momma’s.

Frank held up her up close to kiss her chubby cheek, and when he pulled away she had a grimace on her face. She put her tiny hand on his chin.

“What? You tellin’ me I need to shave?” He had no clue if that’s what she was “telling” him but it was a guess. She was probably hungry. He’d get her a bottle in a moment, he didn’t like to feed her right after she woke up, he liked for her to wake up a bit.

“Your mom won’t like that. She likes my scruff.” he said and stroked his chin, feeling the bristles under his fingers.

“It is getting kinda rough… What do you think? Should I shave? Hmm?”

She answered in her form of gurgling and baby noises.

“That’s as good as answer as I’m gonna get I think.”

He re-positioned her to rest against him. She sat on his hand and rested against his chest. Her fingers curled and uncurled against his skin. His chest hair wasn’t long enough for her to tug on which he was grateful for.

“Wanna help me shave?”

Shaving one handed was something he usually did anyways, but it felt strange to not have use at all of his other hand. When he shaved on the left side of his face, he shifted Katie to his other arm. Then he made a discovery. When he tapped the disposable razor against the sink, Katie started laughing, hard. Babies always laugh at the strangest things, and never in a million years would Frank have thought that was funny, but he kept doing it to hear that laugh.

“Is that funny angel? Huh?” He started to laugh as he tapped the razor more. Her giggles were echoing in the bathroom and Frank had to stop tapping so he could catch his breath. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed that hard.

Right about then Frank heard the front door open.

“Mommy’s home.” Frank whispered.

“Frank?” he heard Karen call.

“Bathroom! C’mere I wanna show you something.”

Frank heard Karen’s heels click across the apartment floor as she walked into their bathroom. Karen grinned at her little girl happy in Frank’s arms. She noticed that Katie’s brown hair was getting longer.

“Watch this.” Frank tapped on the sink with the razor and Katie burst into her fit of giggles again. Karen pulled out her phone immediately and began to video Frank making Katie laugh. Their tiny bathroom was full of laughter from all three of them.

“She needs to eat, I can feed her in a second if you want.”

“I got it.” Karen replied, “Come on baby, let’s let your daddy shave.” She took Katie from Frank’s arms to let him finish. “Why is he shaving Katie?”

“She told me to.” Frank said as he shaved the underside of his chin. He tapped the sink again, and even from the other room Katie giggled.

“Why did you tell daddy to shave?” Frank heard Karen ask in the next room. Frank walked in the bedroom and was rubbing aftershave on his face.

“I told her you wouldn’t like it. But she didn’t seem to care.” Frank shrugged, the corner of his mouth slightly curving into a smile.

Karen sat in the rocking chair in the corner feeding Katie. Frank kissed Karen’s forehead, and smiled down at Katie sucking on her bottle.

With a sigh he laid down on the bed, and smiled with content watching over his girls.


	6. Playtime

Frank is currently laying on his back on the living room floor groaning.

“I feel like I’ve been run over by a car.”

And he has been run over..sort of.

Frank’s 5 year old daughter Katie is using his stomach as a surface to drive her toy cars on. She burst into a fit of giggles at her daddy pretending to be hurt.

It’s quiet in the house. Frank has just put his baby daughter Cecily down for a nap. It’s ‘quiet time’ and the only sounds that can be heard are Katie’s giggles when Frank makes a silly noise. He’d squint his eyes shut in “pain” but barely open one eye to check to see if she was watching, and then he’d groan some more.

He likes these quiet afternoons. Karen’s working at the Bulletin and Frank spends the days at home watching over the girls.

And since he has two girls now, he enjoys the moments when he gets one on one time with each of them. It was Katie’s time with him, but Frank was feeling a little tired, but he’d never let her know that. He’d had a late night last night, he got in a lot later than usual. Luckily he wasn’t hurt, or else he wouldn’t let his 5 year old use him as a road. Katie knew her dad did something that got him hurt sometimes (the easiest answer was that he was a soldier - because that wasn’t technically lying). But the important thing was that Mommy told her that Daddy needed lots of kisses from Doctor Katie when he is hurt. She was happy to help, and would help patch up daddy as best she could. Meaning putting pink band-aids on his forehead. And he’d wear them no matter what color they were.

Last night he’d made it home with just a few scrapes and bruises. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it had been a long night. And since he was laying on his back and it was quiet, he drifted off to sleep, he didn’t mean to but he was just exhausted. Katie watched him for a moment, then got distracted and went to go color at the kitchen table.

Katie had been coloring for quite some time, when she started to hear her dad grunt in the next room. Curious she took a pause from her coloring and went to see what was going on.

Frank was still lying on the floor asleep, but he looked upset. His eyebrows were furrowed together and his hands were balled up into fists. He wasn’t making any sense in what he was saying. He was having a nightmare.

“Daddy?” Katie wasn’t scared, she thought he was playing. She tiptoed over to him and promptly sat down on his stomach. She was light enough that he didn’t notice and it didn’t wake him.

“Gotcha!” she said when she plopped down, but he didn’t react she knew he was asleep. She put her hands on his cheeks to steady his head and she spoke a little louder.

“Daddy!”

He opened his eyes with a start. He tensed up not knowing where he was, but when he realized, he relaxed.

“Baby what are you doing?” Frank sat up pulling Katie into his lap. He normally wasn’t physically violent in his nightmares but he worried about it. And hurting her or Karen was the last thing he wanted.

“You were having a bad dream daddy. Do you wanna talk about it?” she asked looking up at him. He smiled, wondering if she even knew what that meant or if she had just heard mommy ask that question.

He kissed the top of her head, with a few tears welling up in his eyes. Katie didn’t know and wouldn’t know for a long time that Frank had two other children that he lost. He dreamed about them a lot.

“Just about bad things happening to people I love.” he told her honestly but that was all he was going to tell her. He took her in his arms and he stood.

“I’m sorry daddy.” she said and kissed his cheek. “your face is scratchy.” she giggled.

He rubbed his cheek with his hands feeling the scruff. ‘It’s getting longer’ he thought to himself. He liked his scruff. Karen does too, but Katie doesn’t need to know that.

“Even when you were a baby you didn’t like my scruff.” he laughed.

“It tickles!” she laughed, then she gasped as they walked into the kitchen, “Wanna see what I colored??”

“Of course I do!” he smiled and walked over to the table, where there were papers and crayons scattered all over it. “Let’s see what we have here.”

Frank sat down at the table, and rested Katie on his knee. He began to shuffle through her drawings and guessed what they were incorrectly on purpose to make her laugh.

“This is a cow right?”

“No daddy!!” she laughed.

“No look it’s a cow see? I can hear it mooing.” he held the drawing up to his ear.

“Daddy!! It’s a horse!!”

“Whatever you say.” he grinned. “Now who’s this?” he picked up a picture of 3 stick figures. Frank knew it was their family. In the picture Karen was holding a baby, and a little girl was standing in-between Frank and Karen.

“That’s you daddy!”

“Me?? I don’t have blonde hair!” he pointed to Karen in the drawing.

“That’s mommy!!” Katie was giggling harder and harder with each wrong answer.

Frank stopped when he heard Cecily waking up. He looked at the clock on the microwave there in the kitchen and smiled to himself. She woke up at 4:30 like clockwork.

“Shh Katie do you hear that?” Frank whispered.

“Hear what daddy?” she whispered back.

“I think I hear the tickle monster.”

“No!!” She shrieked and jumped out of his lap to run across the room, but Frank is fast and he caught her. She was shrieking with laughter when he put her on the couch to tickle her.

But Frank heard Cecily begin to cry, and he stopped tickling Katie to go check on her.

“Is CC ok?” Katie heard her crying too. She probably was just cranky from waking up, but Frank thought it was sweet Katie was worried.

“Let’s go check on CC.” Frank told her. (They’ve given Cecily the nickname CC because those are her initials but the main reason is Katie can’t say Cecily).

Frank walked into the nursery, and picked up Cecily. Katie was trailing behind him.

“Hey hey sugar it’s ok. Daddy’s gotcha.” He rocked her back and forth in his arms and put her pacifier in her mouth. “Hey Katie, can you do me a big favor?”

Her eyes widened at his request.

“I need you to go pick up your drawings ok? Put the crayons back in their box.”

“But I wanna show mommy my drawings.” she pouted realizing this request wasn’t that fun.

“And you can, we just need them off the table ok? Mommy will be home soon and we’ll eat when she gets home. We can’t eat if the table isn’t cleared off. Thank you baby.” he said as she trudged out of the room.

Frank finished up taking care of Cecily, and brought her into the living room. He sat on the couch and rested her on his thighs. He had one hand on her tummy and the other hand was held but Cecily - well her fingers were wrapped tight around his pointer finger. He was cooing at her as she sucked on her pacifier. Her big blue eyes were blinking up at him as he spoke.

“Katie, can you pick up your cars next?” He asked her as she walked into the living room. “Don’t pout, it’s only a couple things. Mommy’ll be home soon with dinner.”

A few moments later Karen’s keys could be heard rattling outside the door. She nudged the door open with her foot, while she balanced some grocery bags in her arms. She set them down on the floor to greet a very eager Katie.

“How’s my girl huh? Did you have a good day today?”

“I colored a lot! I made a horse but daddy thought it was a cow!!” she spoke really fast giggling the whole time.

“He did?” Karen grinned when she caught Frank’s eye. He was standing now, Cecily nestled against his chest.

“Mmm.” he hummed when he kissed Karen on the cheek then on the lips.

“Ooh your stubble is getting long.” she gave him a knowing smile

“Daddy’s face is scratchy!” Katie stated loudly. “Do you like it mommy?”

Frank gave Karen a wink, knowing all too well Karen likes the scratch of his stubble on her skin. But that’s not what she told Katie.

“I think it makes your daddy look very handsome.”

Katie seemed to accept that answer and dragged Karen over to look at her drawings.

Frank held Cecily and kissed her cheeks over and over, Cecily grinned and cooed. Two of the three girls liked Frank’s scruff so it was staying. He smiled watching Karen admire Katie’s art, she stuck the family drawing on the refrigerator.

Frank loved these moments the quiet ones. Hearing his girls laugh. Cradling Cecily in his arms. He didn’t want to forget these moments ever, because he knew all too well how quickly that could be taken from him.

“Frank?” Karen’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Would you mind stirring this, I wanna see my little one.”

He nodded and kissed Karen’s cheek as she took Cecily from him. He leaned against the counter and stirred the sauce Karen was making.

“C’mere Katie you wanna stir?” Frank asked and set her up on the counter. He told her what to do as she stirred. He stole a few glances at his beautiful wife holding Cecily. She was bouncing her on her hip talking to her softly. Karen caught Frank’s gaze, and he adverted his quickly. A tiny grin appeared on his lips.

“What?” Karen asked.

“Just thinkin’.” he replied.

“What were you thinking about daddy?” Katie interrupted.

“Just how pretty you mom looks that’s all.” He grinned his smug grin, telling Karen he meant something else. He stroked his jaw, and gave Karen another look.

“Don’t you have to go out tonight?” Karen asked hoping he would say no.

“Not tonight.” he said relieving her, she wanted him home.

And he was glad he stayed home. He leaned back against his chair at the table, smiling at Katie trying to slurp down a spaghetti noodle. He grinned at Karen because he couldn’t wait to hold her and kiss her and make her feel good. And he smiled fondly at little Cecily. She watched everyone as Karen fed her some baby food and little bits of spaghetti. Frank felt peace when he was with them. His girls.

This was truly the life Frank enjoyed. Watching over his daughters during the day, and making love to his wife at night.

He was thankful for every single moment, especially the ones with all three of his girls together. He never took any moment for granted


	7. Interrupted

Frank’s fingers were digging into Karen’s skin, his hands finding their way up her shirt. He’d just worked the shirt over her head when he heard the doorknob jiggle and a small voice outside in the hall.

“Daddy?”

Frank (luckily still wearing his sweatpants) jumped out of bed as fast as he could and flew to the door as it cracked open. The light from the hall poured in the room, and Karen ducked under the covers before the light reached her.

Frank gently put his large hand on his daughter Katie’s head and led her out of the bedroom, and he closed the door behind him.

“What’s wrong baby?” Frank asked as he knelt to his daughter’s level.

“I had a bad dream.”

“Come on.” he lifted her as he stood and carried her down the hall.

Before he got to her room, he took her to her little sister Cecily’s nursery. They stood outside the hall for a moment before going in.

“Do you know what I do when I have bad dreams?” Frank whispered to Katie.

“You have bad dreams daddy?” Katie whispered back.

“Yep. But when I do, I come and check on you and your little sister. I make sure you are ok. Makes me feel better.”

He creaked the door open, and he walked into Cecily’s room. Once inside he looked at Katie and put his forefinger on his lips to remind her to be quiet.

Cecily was fast asleep. Frank angled Katie so she could see her sister over the crib. Katie smiled seeing her little sister sleeping, and Frank kissed Katie on the cheek.

After seeing Cecily, Frank took Katie back to her room. He tucked her in and made sure her teddy bear that Uncle Foggy had given her was in her arms.

“Now the next time you have a bad dream, just remember you have someone to check on. Like I check on you two girls, you have him to check on.” Frank pointed at her bear, and she squeezed her bear tight.

“Give daddy a hug.” Frank said softly, and Katie jumped into his arms. She giggled when he made a funny noise in her ear. “Try and get some sleep ok darlin?”

She nodded and fell back against her pillows. Frank kissed her nose and she giggled again. He stood to leave, and turned around one more time to tell her goodnight before he closed the door behind him.

He headed back to his bedroom, hoping Karen was still awake.

It was still in the room when he opened the door, judging by how quiet it was he assumed Karen was asleep. He waited for a moment for his eyes to adjust and walked over to the bed. He sighed as he laid down. He rolled over to face Karen, but her back was to him. Her breathing was steady. Frank slid his arms around her and pulled her to his chest.

And without warning, she spun around in his arms and began to hungrily kiss him. His eyes were wide with shock, but his hands found her waist and slid up her back.

“Thought you were asleep,” Frank smirked as he leaned back against the headboard, pulling Karen on top of him.

“Stop talking Frank.” she moaned desperate to kiss him. She ran her hands up his chest to hold onto his head. She kissed him over and over as his hands smoothed up and down her back. Frank rolled them over, and their legs were tangled as they continued to kiss. His hands were in her hair, and her fingers were digging into his shoulders.

Frank was just about to take off his sweatpants when they heard Cecily crying over the baby monitor. Frank sighed and buried his face in Karen’s neck.

“She was asleep when I went in to check on her.”

“It’s ok Frank, I’ll go. Just don’t you fall asleep on me, I’m not done with you.” Karen stood and tugged her pajama shirt back on.

“Wouldn’t dream of it ma’am.” he teased and leaned back against the headboard to wait for his wife to come back.


End file.
